The aging population will lead to heavy additional financial burdens on public budgets over the next 30 years. Reforms are therefore unavoidable. For example, in old-age provision, in the health care system and in long-term care.
During parliamentary deliberations on the 2019-2023 legislative planning, Parliament commissioned the Federal Council to prepare a report on the long-term consequences of demographic development on intergenerational relations and the policy areas affected by demography. The Federal Council has now adopted the corresponding report «Demographic Development and Intergenerational Relations». The report provides an overview of the federal government's work regarding demographic change and its impact on the policy areas affected and on intergenerational relations. It also highlights the need for action in terms of fiscal policy.
The aging of society creates additional financial burdens
According to the report, the aging of the population will lead to noticeable additional financial burdens on public budgets over the next 30 years and make reforms in various policy areas inevitable. This applies to policy areas directly affected by demographic change, such as old-age provision, namely AHV, healthcare and long-term care.
Relationship between the generations is put to the test
Due to the retiring baby boomers, the financial impact of aging will be felt acutely by 2035. The increased aging of the population will also change the relationship between the financial burden of the working population and those receiving benefits. This will put the relationship between the generations to the test.
Demographic change is comprehensively documented
The federal government presents the foreseeable impact of demographic change in several studies. For example, the long-term perspectives of public finances for Switzerland published regularly by the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) are worth mentioning. These and other publications, an overview of which has been provided in this report, provide the Federal Council and Parliament with a sound basis for economic policy decisions.